At the same time, people in their mid-40s and early 50s often face competing financial demands, from paying for college<\/a> to supporting aging parents. Even so, retirement saving remains a priority for many. The Fed\u2019s survey shows that about 62% of households led by people in this age range had money in retirement-specific accounts in 2022, the most recent year available. That\u2019s the highest participation rate for 45\u201354-year-olds since 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the decade when retirement outcomes become much harder to change later,\u201d said Eric Ludwig, director of the Center for Retirement Income at the American College of Financial Services. \u201cParticipation is high, balances grow meaningfully, and differences between households widen quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n For people nearing their mid-50s, money decisions made during this period can have an outsized impact on financial security later in life. Seeing how households in this age range stack up helps put personal progress into context\u2014and underscores why moves now can still move the needle.<\/p>\n For those in their mid-40s and early 50s who reported having retirement accounts in 2022, the median balance was $115,000. That figure is well above the balances reported by those younger than 45, reflecting longer time in the workforce and more years to accumulate savings, but trails those of older age groups.<\/p>\n In practical terms, the median<\/a> represents the midpoint of all reported balances\u2014half of households had more saved, and half had less. Medians are used here instead of means to reduce the influence of unusually high or low balances. While this age group\u2019s median retirement balance dipped slightly from the 2019 survey, it remains near the highest levels seen in decades.<\/p>\n Even so, retirement saving<\/a> should remain a top financial priority during this phase, said Ludwig. He suggested a basic benchmark for households approaching their mid-50s: \u201cA reasonable planning range is roughly five to seven times annual expenses,\u201d he noted, \u201cpaired with clearer assumptions about future spending.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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